1. Field of the Invention
This shovel is intended to be used by a person who has lost the use of a limb through an accident, infirmity, or disease. It will enable the person to shovel snow with one arm while standing on a crutch, sitting in a wheel chair, or on both legs. It is also designed to be used with minimal bending and is adjustable to the height of the user.
2. Description of Prior Act
Todays shovels do not readily lend themselves for use by handicapped persons since they require the use of both hands. Whether scraping or shoveling snow, the user must use both hands and be standing in an upright position making it impossible for a one legged or one armed person to use properly. This shovel will allow the user to use one arm to do the above effectively.
In reference, I have looked into the following patents; U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,541 by Waldschmidt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,103,954 by Vaslas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,252 by Barone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,852 by Seigendall, U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,672 by Sims, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,921 by Samuelson, and found that all these shovels are to be used with both hands, thus the user would not be able to use these effectively to his or her demands.
I have looked into several makes and designs of different shovels and none of them address the problems associated with the handicapped situation described in the previous statements. These shovels are designed with one or two handles to be used while incorporating the use of both hands. The invention that I have designed will allow the person using the shovel to use it while standing on a crutch, crutches, sitting, or standing on both legs using one arm to shovel or scrape snow. The shovel is equipped with a grip handle attached to the main shaft, which in tun is made so that the user does not have bend over to any extreme to reach the surface he is trying to clear. The attached grip handle allows the user to grip it in a way that the form rests in a cradle at the upper end of the main shaft to give the user leverage to lift the load. This grip handle is also adjustable to the users height. This invention will empower certain handicapped individuals by enabling them to remove snow from walkways, sidewalks, etc.